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Brett Slobodzian Trophy
The Brett Slobodzian Trophy is given to the Most Valuable Player of the VHL as decided by the players. The award is decided by a league-wide player vote that takes place at the beginning of each offseason. This award is often considered the "unofficial" MVP award of the VHL, with the Scotty Campbell Trophy being the "official" award. However, it is very common that the winner of this award and the winner of the Campbell Trophy are one in the same. The trophy is named in honor of former Calgary Wrangler Brett Slobodzian, himself a two-time winner of the Campbell Trophy. This is the newest of the major VHL awards, having been instated during the Season 11 offseason. Unlike the Campbell Trophy, which has three players on the ballot, the Slobodzian Trophy has a varying amount of contenders each offseason, with anywhere between three and six players being in contention. Not every player is required to vote, as there are usually between forty to fifty ballots cast each offseason over a period of three days. History The award was created in time for the Season 11 offseason as part of an overhaul to the awards ceremony that saw four awards renamed to honor VHL greats. A second award was proposed along with this one, to be given to the top VHLM prospect, but it was never incorporated into the awards ceremony. Fifty-nine votes were cast during the first voting period, and the next season a record-high seventy-two votes were cast. For Season 14, an fourth candidate appeared on the ballot. A fifth was added after Season 17, and the next offseason saw the total rise to six, where it currently stands. Since Season 15, the total votes cast has hovered in the forties, down from the higher numbers earlier on. Past Winners Most Votes, All Time Variances From Campbell Trophy ﻿The Slobodzian Trophy and the Campbell Trophy have a number of differences. First and foremost, the Campbell Trophy is voted on by the eight general managers among three candidates, whereas the Slobodzian is picked by the players at large and there are up to six candidates every offseason. Because of the nature of the voting process, the Slobodzian winner is known before the official awards ceremony, while the Campbell winner is announced with the rest of the awards. It also seems that goaltenders are stronger candidates for this award than they are for the Campbell. A goaltender has won the award once (Jonas Markstrom), and has been first runner-up three times, while the Campbell has seen no goalies win the award and only four appear on any public ballot in all. Concerns ﻿Early in the award's lifetime, there was worry that the competition would be nothing more than a popularity contest, where a player's production would be overshadowed by their personality. given the propensity of the winner to often end up winning the Campbell Trophy, these fears were put to rest early on. However, the award is still not a part of the predictions players put forth each offseason partly due to this concern. The Slobodzian Trophy also follows the same pattern as the Campbell Trophy wherein the leading scorer of the regular season is very commonly the winner of this award as well. Aside from goaltender Markstrom in Season 16 and co-winner Patrick Bergqvist in Season 20, ﻿all winners of this award have had at least a share of the league lead in points.